July 2016 News Release Archive | Emory University School of Law

GreenLaw will honor Mindy Goldstein, a clinical professor of law of Emory University School of Law's Turner Environmental Law Clinic. She will receive the Ogden Doremus Award for Environmental Excellence.

In Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, the Supreme Court buttressed constitutional protection for women's reproductive freedom. A five-justice majority struck down a Texas statute that required abortion providers to have local hospital admitting privileges and clinics to meet costly standards for ambulatory surgical centers. Justice Anthony Kennedy's move to join the liberal wing of the court--in 2007, he had written the majority opinion in a 5-4 decision restricting abortion procedures--came as a welcome surprise for abortion rights advocates.

In Cuozzo Speed Technologies, LLC v. Lee, the Supreme Court treated the USPTO like any other administrative agency, generally deferring to how the agency decided to regulate proceedings before it. It curtailed most review of those decisions and embraced the agency's discretion to adopt them. Thus, Cuozzo can be viewed as the court confirming a shift in power away from the federal circuit and to the USPTO, particularly under the America Invents Act.

The Clean Power Plan is the centerpiece of the Obama administration's efforts to combat climate change. Shortly after it was issued, 27 states and industry groups brought suit in the D.C. Circuit, arguing it exceeds the EPA's authority under the Clean Air Act. West Virginia, et al. v. EPA, is likely to be one of the most important environmental cases in decades. But a series of unexpected twists have rendered the future of the regulation less certain.

When the Daily Report announced the award winners in its annual "Lifetime Achievement" and "On the Rise" categories, more than a few Emory Law graduates were on the list. Congratulations to all our alumni for their continued success, dedication and service.

While the president, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court continue to clash over immigration, Professor Polly Price, a legal historian and expert in immigration and citizenship, says 19th century case law is still a powerful influence. Price was invited to the U.S. Supreme Court to deliver the lecture, "The Supreme Court and the Chinese Exclusion Cases." The 2016 Leon Silverman Lecture, delivered May 11, was derived from Price's research on citizenship and immigration law, and given in the court's main courtroom.